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Platform: Xbox
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Def Jam: Fight for NY Score: 8.6 /10 |
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Pros: - Plenty of fights, fighters, styles, and attitude - Authentic clothing and “bling” - Interesting story line with its share of twists and turns - Looks great
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Cons: - Not much to do aside from fighting and buying things in the story mode - Player creation should have been more in-depth - The menu music will make you want to reach for your CD player
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Related Links: Review: Def Jam Vendetta (PS2) Review: Ultimate MUSCLE - The Kinnikuman Legacy
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"...tons of fighters and techniques make Def Jam: Fight for New York worth every penny." |
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The sequel to EA’s Def Jam: Vendetta, Fight for NY delivers arcade style fighting with today’s most recognized hip-hop artists. Def Jam, which switched from a sports title to a story driven game, does more than advertise heavily for rap stars; it showcases nearly perfect controls with fighting mayhem.
Def Jam: Fight for NY starts off around the arrest of D-Mobb, the same character that you fought with in the last game, in inner-city New York. As he is being carried to prison, a mysterious man helps him escape. It later turns out that the person behind his freeing is in fact your character. In return for your services D-Mobb brings you into his inner circle and asks you to join his squad in fighting to get the streets back under his control. After customizing your character to look somewhat like yourself, for the player creation process isn’t as in depth as it should have been (much like any EA game), you can choose from five different fight styles to teach your fighter: Wrestling, Submission, Kick-boxing, Street Fighting, and Martial Arts. Each style feels different from the other so it may take some time before finding your ideal form. For instance, Submission and Wrestling styles will benefit those who take there time in fights and wait for specific moments to deliver their wrath, while martial arts and kick-boxing styles will benefit those who work fast and speedily through fights, sometimes improvising their moves. Not to worry, throughout the story mode of the game you can train yourself in the other styles in order to keep your opponents off guard and perhaps find a better style for yourself. The
story mode is pretty simplistic and easy for anyone to jump into. To
fight, all you have to do is select a place and an opponent and in you
go. Since there is no difficulty level, fights |
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will get harder and harder as you progress through the game. There are only a couple of instances where you will find yourself in a hard battle, but most of the time winning a fight isn’t very difficult.
After matches, and hopefully victories, you can alter your character in a number of ways. You can give him the latest “gear” ranging from Sean John to Jordan, or get him a new haircut, maybe a Mohawk or afro. Aside from aesthetics, you can train your fighter in the local gym. Although training your fighter is a smart thing to do, there is no extra ingredient to |
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actually “training”. All you have to do is purchase an upgrade in the area you feel is right, and you are automatically stronger. I expected a training mode or something similar but nothing was incorporated, which was a slight disappointment. The music of Def Jam is predominantly filled with Kenny G riffs and subtle hints of Leann Rimes – no wait, scratch that. As you’d expect the soundtrack is filled with hip-hop tunes from today’s hottest performers. (If you were expecting Kenny G, you’re out of luck.) Another downside to the music is the lack of the Xbox’s support of custom soundtracks, forcing you to listen to what is there. Not being a major rap fan, the soundtrack lost its flavor quickly and made me want to crank up my own tunes and just fight.
The fighting system of Def Jam: Fight for NY is one of its best qualities. Rather than relying on sheer brute force, in order to win matches your fighter must perform a special move. No matter how long you fight and keep kicking butt, the fight won’t end until one fighter does a special move to end the mayhem. Special moves can be purchased or earned from other fighters throughout the game and performed at specific moments. In order to obtain the ability of a special move in a fight, you must first get consecutive blows to your opponent and have things going your way. Much like EA Sports’ NBA Street and NFL Street’s “Gamebreaker”, once activated you have a certain amount of time to grab your opponent and just “lay the nasty” on him. Other ways of ending a fight are to use your environment, such as pick up a pool cue and bash your opponent in the head or run him into a wall. Though graphically Def Jam looks fantastic, it’s the authenticity of the characters that brings out the realism. All of the voices of the artists are real and the excellent character models feature very lifelike facial movements. From Snoop Dogg to the other 40 characters, the level of detail is spread evenly. Keep your eye out for cameos from celebrities including Omar Epps, Ice T, and Carmen Electra (whom are also playable characters). A thorough story campaign, plenty of modes of play for you and your friends, and tons of fighters and techniques make Def Jam: Fight for New York worth every penny. If you want to release some anger and can’t make your way to your copy of GTA: San Andreas, than call up your friends and gather around Fight for NY. In the words of Snoop Dogg himself, this game “drops it like it’s hot”. - Eric Lahiji (January 26, 2005)
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